Batteries (and sometimes multiple batteries) are used to power various types of systems. Some examples of battery usage are when batteries are used to power the electrical system of a conventional internal combustion vehicles, the motor of electric vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles. The batteries in these systems can be packs of batteries that provide voltages in the 12-400 volts range.
Accessories and other components (e.g., fuel injectors) that are used in the same vehicles typically require voltages that are different than 200-400 volts. These voltages are typically provided from a 12V battery or a battery array of 24V. One such conversion system that can be used is a DC-DC converter. In some examples of DC-DC converters, the voltage may be converted from 12 volts to 48 volts (for example, to drive fuel injectors). Other examples of conversions are possible.
Although DC-DC converters have been used, they have operational issues and limitations. For instance, the conversion circuitry in the DC-DC converter typically utilizes transistors. Transistors can be damaged or destroyed when too high a current is applied. For example, in certain applications that use inductors, the inductors can become defective introducing high currents into the transistors that drive the circuits. In other examples, overloads at the output or glitches in the control logic of the circuit can result in too much current flowing through transistors, possibly leading to the destruction of these transistors.
Previous approaches have not been entirely successful in solving the above-mentioned problems. This has resulted in some user dissatisfaction with these previous systems and approaches.
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